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Fitness |OT6| Defying gravity, Quest madness, and Muscle Shaming
- Thread starter SquiddyCracker
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LunaticHigh
Member
I just ordered 300$ of quest bars.
I'M FUCKING READY
I'M FUCKING READY
SonicXtreme
Member
Next week on hoarders: LunaticHigh gets super high and fills his closets with quest bars
Starvation response doesn't really start to kick in until your glycogen stores are fully depleted. In normal circumstances this can take longer than a day (eg the amount of time it'll take you to get ketonic). The "starvation response" that occurs when dieting is more a slowing down of metabolism over many days (weeks) of continuous caloric restriction, which is the result of hormonal fluctuations in response to the decrease in energy. This is what causes things like muscle loss, it's the result of your body going into a catabolic hormonal state.
MrToughPants
Brian Burke punched my mom
I propose a ban on Quest Bar product discussions, as it is unfair on those of us who are unable to acquire them and must thrive of more putrid protein supplements
Are they even available in Canada, and not price gouged either...fuck everything is more expensive here.
Brolic Gaoler
formerly Alienshogun
Quest bar, not even once.
Eh, I tried them to see what the hype is all about, but they're too expensive and don't taste good enough towarrant repeat business from me.
MrToughPants
Brian Burke punched my mom
I've been having an Oh Henry/Coffee Crisp or two at work everyday, along with 1-2 cans of Crush. Gotta get them calories somehow when you're sweating your ass off at work all day. Had half a jug of fudge and cookie dough ice cream last night soooooooooo good and Still looking like the Swole God of Olympus
SonicXtreme
Member
Hi Noema. I'm aware of the program's pattern. What I'm saying is my arms are too weak to perform said program using 2.5 lb increments and get a linear (vs. stair-step) increase.
Workout 1: 45 lbs, 5/5/5 OK
Workout 2: 47.5 lbs, 5/5/5 OK
Workout 3: 50 lbs, 5/5/5 OK
Workout 4: 52.5 lbs 4/4/4 FAIL
Workout 5: 52.5 lbs, 5/5/4 FAIL
Workout 6: 52.5 lbs, 5/5/5 OK
Workout 7: 55 lbs, 3/3/2 FAIL
Workout 8: ???
So I can either go into workout 8 and repeat 55 pounds again, or I can dial the weight back a bit and go with smaller-than-2.5 jumps for now, perhaps netting me a more linear increase? I realize failing sets is part of the process and the OHP is generally slow to progress, but failures by the 4th workout for a novice seems a bit early. Does it matter if my progress is a linear pattern with smaller jumps vs. a stairstep with the bigger ones
The usual advice is wait until your first deload before lowering the increments. And yes, 1lb increments on OHP is very reasonable and will eventually be necessary to keep your linear progression.
Now, I suggest you post a video of your OHP since it's kind of weird for you to be stalling wih such low weights. There might be a form issue holding you back.
thomaser said:
Good to know, thanks.
Sounds good. I'll do my next OHP workout on Tuesday, and I'll get some video. I'd actually prefer it be a form problem that I can correct and work with larger increments. I like the press and feel really strong when I do manage to get the bar over my head.
I've only ever done at most 2x5 deadlifts in a workout, should I be doing 3x5? Or are you only talking about OHP?
Deadlifts should be done 5x1 (1 set of 5)
Power Cleans are usually done 3x5 (five sets of three)
All other compounds are 5x3.
Zoe
Member
You're mixing up your notation.
Deadlifts are 1 (set) x 5 (reps). Power Cleans are 5 (sets) x 3 (reps). Everything else is 3 (sets) x 5 (reps).
There was some talk about erectile dysfunction in on study in Mexico apparently but I'm not sure if it's anything to be worried about. I haven't resd about it elsewhere and my doctor didn't mention it.
Also the list of side effects that came with the isotretinoin I bought didn't mention anything about penis problems.
Brolic Gaoler
formerly Alienshogun
Doin' dat shit right.
RumblingRosco
Member
Standard notation based off of what book/routine? Not trying to pick an argument, but I've always seen it as sets X reps X weight. So, 3x5x100 would be three sets of five reps at 100 lbs each. I'm pretty sure that's what most people in FitGAF use as well.
I've been looking for a cool BB shirt to wear at the finale party I'm hosting and this definitely fits. Shipping is normally 5.00 but if you buy two shirts and type the code Fall2013 you get free shipping so I got the Los Pollos one too.
Hopefully they don't fit like shit.
Bench seems so out of whack. Never understand that but it's so common.
Well I have pretty much the exact same numbers as him, but I got 225 on bench twice. DL supposed to be at 390 and squat at 300 but otherwise we have the same OHP. His bench is either stellar, or mine sucks dick.
Can't speak for Vio, but I find most guys did bench as their only compound for years at the gym before doing the other compounds or taking things like squats and Deads seriously.
SquiddyCracker
Banned
That's usually it, which is why starting strenght is a pretty great beginner's workout for people who don't consider themselves to be beginner's due to them doing bicep/chest at the gym.
All those squats equalizing things.
Yup I see this all the time. Most everyone I know only does bench or its their main focus with the other compounds rarely being used.
Also speaking of which I have a friend who thinks squats don't work abs so he does a squat then going up he raises 1 leg...yeah.
fredrancour
Member
Barbell squats? Or unweighted? Cause if its barbell he has some violent karma approaching his spine damn quickly.
Barbell, with just the bar or very little weight. Yeah suffice to say after doing them properly and a real program, I saw he was all broscience. Even his routine is random and made up as he goes. Also no legs since his calves are big. And I have friends that trust him rather than listen to me about compounds and finding a proper program.
fredrancour
Member
That's a whole new level of broscience though. That ain't some shitty conventional wisdom that is going unquestioned, he made it up all by himself. He pulled it out of nowhere- it's more ass-science than bro-science.
Yeah I still don't understand what makes him think such nonsense. I swear my head hurts sometimes just thinking about that month I wasted going to the gym with "friends" and their bro science routines. So much iso on the same muscle, ignoring compounds beside bench cuz they hurt, doing random routines cuz some magazine or instagram post said to do them.
Not yet. I was hoping to have pictures but that requires my wife to help me take them. She's sleeping now, but I can type up descriptions being as detailed as possible
I could probably draw stick figures too
Let me walk my dog first then I'll get to work
It's pretty normal for guys who have prior training experience but never did a full body program like SS or 531 before.
There's a dude at my gym who benches 275lb for reps but bends like a twig whenever he tries to squat anything heavier than 205lb. He literally looks like those "friends don't leg friends skip leg day" pictures. His arms are bigger than his legs.
I have never seen him not bench when he's at the gym.
Yes, you'll always be able to lift more weight back squatting and thus you'll get stronger. Back squats use much more musculature and are not limited by upper back strength like front squats. It doesn't really have anything to do with powerlifting, it's just that the back squat is probably the best exercise in the world for building strength. That's why it's at the center of every strength training program and why pretty much everyone who participates in any athletic activity should do back squats (with some exceptions like marathon runners and stuff like that).
When training for strength movements that utilize the most amount of muscle mass over the longest ROM are always preferable. That's why we prefer the flat bench to the incline bench, or why we prefer the OHP to the seated barbell press or why we prefer deadlifts to RDLs and rack pulls. And that's why we prefer back squats to front squats.
I mean front squats are a fantastic exercise but unless you are training the Olympic lifts they should be secondary to back squats.
Not yet. I was hoping to have pictures but that requires my wife to help me take them. She's sleeping now, but I can type up descriptions being as detailed as possible
I could probably draw stick figures too
Let me walk my dog first then I'll get to work
Awesome, sounds great! I'd nominate this to also go in the OP to help everyone out
My lower back pain was at about an 8 before I started doing these. It radiated in my upper butt and went down to the my toes and my feet used to be numb. Now I have some slight discomfort at about a 4 in my lower back with no leg issues.
STRETCHES **Hold all positions for 1-2 minutes**
1.) Lay flat on your stomach and prop yourself up on your elbows Keep your head in neutral position. You should feel a good stretch in your lower back.
2.) Lay flat on your back and bend your right leg. Cross your left leg overtop of your right leg. Put your left hand between your legs and your right hand to the side of your right leg and grab at your right shin/knee. Pull your left leg as close to your body as possible. You should feel a stretch in your glutes. Repeat the same stretch for the other side
3.) Put your back to a table, and kick your leg back so the top of your foot is on the table. Keep your knees close together, and slowly bend the straight leg down. You should feel a stretch in your quads. This is very similar to grabbing your foot and pulling it behind you so the heel touches your butt, however, there is a big difference. When you do the stretch like that, your core starts doing most of the work. By resting your foot on a table, you isolate your quads.
4.) Lay on your back in an open door way. Keep your right leg straight, and put your left leg up on the door frame. The goal here is to get your leg straight up in the air, with your toes pointing up. This can be REALLY hard and you'll feel a huge stretch in your hamstrings. If you cannot get your leg straight up, don't sweat it. Take baby steps.
5.) Put one knee on the ground, and bend the other knee (think lunge position). Keep your spine and head neutral and slowly lean into the stretch while keeping your body up right. Another hamstring stretch.
CORE WORK
1.) Sit in the middle of a bosu ball, and walk yourself until you are sitting on the edge. Keep your head and spine neutral and slowly lean back until you lay flat on the ball. Think of it like a reverse situp.
2.) Sit in the middle of the ball again, and start walking your feet out. As you walk your feet out, simultaneously lean back into the ball until you lay flat. Then walk your feet back and slowly sit up.
3.) Lay on your belly on the ball and slowly walk your hands out. Go as far as you can (Until your knees or even just your toes are on the ball). The MOST important thing here is to keep your head and spine neutral. The further you walk out, the easier it will be to slack. You have to consciously stay tight on the slow hand walk out.
4.) Lay on your belly on the ball and walk your hands out until your knees are just on the ball. Slowly raise one leg up at a time. Once again, MAKE SURE YOUR SPINE AND HEAD ARE NEUTRAL. You will start to slack as you raise your leg. Focus less on how high your leg can go, and more on how tight you can keep your core.
5.) Lay on your belly on the ball and walk your hands out until your knees are just on the ball. Here comes the hard part. Draw your knees towards your chest as far as you can, while keeping your head and spine neutral. You'll basically be in a full squat, but position in an odd, half upside down position. This one is no joke.
6.) Lat flat on your back and put your legs up on the ball. Keep your butt in the air, while maintaining a tight core. Draw your legs towards your chest
If ANYTHING didn't make sense let me know, and I can clarify with some drawn pictures (Wife is going on her third 12 hour night shift in a row, so I don't dare wake her right, so no pictures of me right now).
STRETCHES **Hold all positions for 1-2 minutes**
1.) Lay flat on your stomach and prop yourself up on your elbows Keep your head in neutral position. You should feel a good stretch in your lower back.
2.) Lay flat on your back and bend your right leg. Cross your left leg overtop of your right leg. Put your left hand between your legs and your right hand to the side of your right leg and grab at your right shin/knee. Pull your left leg as close to your body as possible. You should feel a stretch in your glutes. Repeat the same stretch for the other side
3.) Put your back to a table, and kick your leg back so the top of your foot is on the table. Keep your knees close together, and slowly bend the straight leg down. You should feel a stretch in your quads. This is very similar to grabbing your foot and pulling it behind you so the heel touches your butt, however, there is a big difference. When you do the stretch like that, your core starts doing most of the work. By resting your foot on a table, you isolate your quads.
4.) Lay on your back in an open door way. Keep your right leg straight, and put your left leg up on the door frame. The goal here is to get your leg straight up in the air, with your toes pointing up. This can be REALLY hard and you'll feel a huge stretch in your hamstrings. If you cannot get your leg straight up, don't sweat it. Take baby steps.
5.) Put one knee on the ground, and bend the other knee (think lunge position). Keep your spine and head neutral and slowly lean into the stretch while keeping your body up right. Another hamstring stretch.
CORE WORK
1.) Sit in the middle of a bosu ball, and walk yourself until you are sitting on the edge. Keep your head and spine neutral and slowly lean back until you lay flat on the ball. Think of it like a reverse situp.
2.) Sit in the middle of the ball again, and start walking your feet out. As you walk your feet out, simultaneously lean back into the ball until you lay flat. Then walk your feet back and slowly sit up.
3.) Lay on your belly on the ball and slowly walk your hands out. Go as far as you can (Until your knees or even just your toes are on the ball). The MOST important thing here is to keep your head and spine neutral. The further you walk out, the easier it will be to slack. You have to consciously stay tight on the slow hand walk out.
4.) Lay on your belly on the ball and walk your hands out until your knees are just on the ball. Slowly raise one leg up at a time. Once again, MAKE SURE YOUR SPINE AND HEAD ARE NEUTRAL. You will start to slack as you raise your leg. Focus less on how high your leg can go, and more on how tight you can keep your core.
5.) Lay on your belly on the ball and walk your hands out until your knees are just on the ball. Here comes the hard part. Draw your knees towards your chest as far as you can, while keeping your head and spine neutral. You'll basically be in a full squat, but position in an odd, half upside down position. This one is no joke.
6.) Lat flat on your back and put your legs up on the ball. Keep your butt in the air, while maintaining a tight core. Draw your legs towards your chest
If ANYTHING didn't make sense let me know, and I can clarify with some drawn pictures (Wife is going on her third 12 hour night shift in a row, so I don't dare wake her right, so no pictures of me right now).
Wow great write up, this definitely belongs in the OP (maybe under a recommended stretches for back pain section or something?). I think it'll help a lot of people!
Dang didn't realize you were having both back and radicular pain, that's tough. Considering the nerve problems it sounds like that would take a while to improve so I'm super glad you're doing better
Wow great write up, this definitely belongs in the OP (maybe under a recommended stretches for back pain section or something?). I think it'll help a lot of people!
Dang didn't realize you were having both back and radicular pain, that's tough. Considering the nerve problems it sounds like that would take a while to improve so I'm super glad you're doing better
Yeah it got pretty bad at one point, like I could only stand. I was skeptical of PT at first, but I'm so glad I did it. The core work is surprisingly difficult, especially when you stay tight and neutral the entire time.
My PT also emphasized how staying conscious of my neutral spine during the core work will help me with squatting and deadlifting.
Guess I'll make a post of my progress in SS (from last week's to this week's numbers). I missed the third day last week, however I have completed that week this week so I can alternate (BP/OHP) next week.
@135 lbs, 5'8"
Squats: 75 lbs --> 80 lbs (I was able to do 5/5/4 @ 85lbs but some guy from the athletic department was saying how I should have a wider stance and have my feet pointed forward lol)
Bench Press: 75 lb --> 85 lbs
Military Press/OHP: 55 lbs
Deadlift: 85 lbs --> 95 lbs
Pendlay Rows: 75 lbs
Chin-ups: 7/4/4 --> 6/4/3
Squat is my weakest lift, not sure if it's psychological, physically, or I'm still adjusting my form (based on advice, criticism, and tips from YouTube videos). It's not progressing as fast as my other lifts. Should I go back to a lighter weight and go ATG and work my way up from there? AFAIK, I am only hitting parallel or slighty lower than parallel.
@135 lbs, 5'8"
Squats: 75 lbs --> 80 lbs
(I was able to do 5/5/4 @ 85lbs but some guy from the athletic department was saying how I should have a wider stance and have my feet pointed forward lol)Bench Press: 75 lb --> 85 lbs
Military Press/OHP: 55 lbs
Deadlift: 85 lbs --> 95 lbs
Pendlay Rows: 75 lbs
Chin-ups: 7/4/4 --> 6/4/3
Squat is my weakest lift, not sure if it's psychological, physically, or I'm still adjusting my form (based on advice, criticism, and tips from YouTube videos). It's not progressing as fast as my other lifts. Should I go back to a lighter weight and go ATG and work my way up from there? AFAIK, I am only hitting parallel or slighty lower than parallel.
SonicXtreme
Member
Guess I'll make a post of my progress in SS. I missed the third day last week, however I have completed that week this week so I can alternate (BP/OHP) next week.
@135 lbs, 5'8"
Squats: 75 lbs --> 80 lbs
Bench Press: 75 lb --> 85 lbs
Military Press/OHP: 55 lbs
Deadlift: 85 lbs --> 95 lbs
Pendlay Rows: 75 lbs
Chin-ups: 7/4/4 --> 6/4/3
Squat is my weakest lift, not sure if it's psychological, physically, or I'm still adjusting my form (based on advice, criticism, and tips from YouTube videos). It's not progressing as fast as my other lifts. Should I go back to a lighter weight and go ATG and work my way up from there? AFAIK, I am only hitting parallel or slighty lower than parallel.
you don't need to go ATG parallel is fine. your squat number is fine you just started. it uses a lot of muscles you that were really weak in your body don't worry about it. it's a more complex exercise than stuff like the bench press, that combined with using muscles that are weak as hell means it will chug for a while but it will fly past your bench eventually trust me.
Thanks Sonic. My buddy said to just keep going and that he agrees with what you said.
Edit: I feel reassured now haha.
Thanks! Initially I went to the gym to get strength for martial arts, but I haven't been doing martial arts for a good while; no idea when and if I'll get back on that. The functional results I'm after at the gym are still the same though. I want a decent level of useful strength that I can apply even at weird angles, and tough tendons and good stabilization muscles so I don't get hurt easily. Turns out feeling stronger also makes me happier even if I don't acutely need it.
After getting to that 2BW DL/1.5BW squat/1.2BW bench goal, which I feel is a nice baseline to maintain / not fall under, I'll probably start moving my focus to building other types of strength. Some basic gymnastics skills, also maybe some old strongman stuff. I've dabbled in these before and find them fun; actually, my best strength achievements to date are probably kettlebell turkish get-up (32kg 1RM, 28kg 3RM) and strict barbell side press (30kg 5RM). Gymnastics, I'm hoping, is capable of building up some of those bullshit muscles that have no discernable purpose but cramp up on me if I so much as step into a grappling class. Also, some gymnastics stuff just looks cool as hell.
I'm 30, 176cm, 80kg and have a BF% maybe around 10. Not much fluctuation in these in a decade. I've never counted calories, exercised to lose fat, or exercised to gain muscle. I wouldn't mind if the strength training I do anyway would also gave me more muscle, but it's not something I'm willing to put much extra time and energy in. I sleep like crap, and often eat poorly as well, so maybe if I fix those (which I should do anyway) there will be some visible byproduct.
guys.....GUYS
Pass, not big on chocolate.....who am I kidding ill at least try it.
A
A More Normal Bird
Unconfirmed Member
Okay, so I'm not gonna do any squats, dead lifts or overhead presses until my legs 100% heal.
Opinions? Speak now or forever hold your peace.
...cause I'm about to leave to the gym in 20.
Is this the "sharp pain" you've been experiencing? It's kind of hard to offer advice without any real detail.
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